Serious Moonlight

Synopsis: When a woman is told by her husband he is leaving her for a much younger woman she takes drastic measures to change his mind.

Release Date: December 4, 2009     MPAA Rating: PG-13

Genre(s): Comedy, Romantic Comedy

Film Review

A sane, intelligent, successful, beautiful woman can snap in an instant, given the right circumstance. The circumstance in this case just happens to be her husband announcing he is leaving her for another woman. Call her a woman on the verge of a breakdown but do not call her crazy. That just makes her more nuts, but in a good way. The cheap thrill of watching her duct tape him to the toilet may come across as extreme but it works for the duration of the movie as a wild solution. Largely in part from the performances by both Meg Ryan (Louise) and Timothy Hutton (Ian). It is this out of the ordinary reaction that gives rise to unexpected sentiment and the chance to watch two people who have fallen out of love deal with their feelings and face exactly what went wrong. When a twist of fate occurs it puts them both in a larger predicament but not everything is always as it seems and although the twist is almost predictable it makes for a great final scene.

Bringing together two actors who spend the majority of a film fighting with each other is easy. Making the audience member like them and want to see them live their happily ever after is not so easy. With Ryan and Hutton (Louise and Ian) it happens gracefully. At first you want to hate Ian for cheating on his wife and his despicable way of dealing with his walking out on the marriage. As for Louise, as much as you want to emphasize with her she reacts with such a level of lunacy you almost cannot blame Ian for leaving. So you have two fairly unlikable characters from the beginning. Good thing they immediately click with each other on screen. Their fighting is pure entertainment. Their moments of kindness well received and warranted. It is a constant battle between them but throughout you always feel they have that certain spark. It is this spark that makes you want to keep watching just to see what will happen between them.

Although the film is entertaining it is not outright funny. The comedy is dark and at times too far on the darker side to actually make you want to laugh. The only really humorous angle it has going for it is the act of kidnapping a philandering husband and forcing him to talk. This one simple thing does not make for a comedy and so the film plays more like a drama, with some brief interludes that may have you laughing but more than likely will not.

Cast and Crew

• Director(s): Cheryl Hines
• Producer(s): Adrienne ShellyMeg Ryan (Louise)
• Screenwriter(s): Kristen Bell (Sara)Justin Long (Todd)Timothy Hutton (Ian)
• Story: 
• Cast:  Steven RaschNancy SchreiberCecil Gentry
• Editor(s):
• Cinematographer: Andrew Hollander
• Production Designer(s):
• Costume Designer: 
• Casting Director(s): 
• Music Score: 
• Music Performed By: 
• Country Of Origin: USA